Avila resigns from assistant city manager post

Daniel Avila, assistant city manager and chief operating officer for the city of Las Cruces, said Saturday he has not applied for the Las Cruces city manager's position and will not be a finalist.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

His last day with city government will be Dec. 31, according to a city government news release. Avila's annual salary is $117,000.

It was reported earlier this month that Avila had been on leave for several weeks, but city officials declined to say if the leave was personal or administrative.

Avila said in an email to the Sun-News that the decision to resign was his.

"As you know, it has been eight months since Robert Garza retired as city manager from the city of Las Cruces and I have already seen lots of changes," Avila said. "At the same time, I had already been contemplating moving back to El Paso, my hometown.

"After taking time off work and thinking about it carefully, I have decided to leave the city of Las Cruces and pursue other job opportunities in El Paso. I want to thank the city of Las Cruces, and especially Robert Garza, for giving me the opportunity to work there. It has been my privilege and honor to work with the staff, especially the operations directors. I have seen huge improvements in the (city government's) Permitting Section and am glad that I was a part of that and other positive things. I wish the city of Las Cruces much success."

Garza hired Avila in June 2015. Avila is a former vice president of operations and engineering for El Paso Water Utilities, where he also served as the chief technical officer, project administration manager and construction manager. He'd also worked for the Federal Aviation Administration in California and El Paso and the Texas Department of Transportation.

Avila was temporarily promoted to interim city manager in late May after Garza's departure. In late August, he was moved back to assistant city manager.

While the council searched for Garza's replacement, Miyagishima said he considered Avila a potential candidate for city manager. However, Avila quickly removed himself from consideration, pointing out he never applied for the position and had no interest in pursuing it.

"I appreciate Daniel's time with the city," Miyagishima said. "He took over for three months and had big shoes to fill and he did well. I wish him well with his future endeavors."

Stuart Ed became city manager in November.

Ed has since appointed Loretta Reyes, the city's public works director, to fill Avila's vacated assistant city manager position on an interim basis.